A Few Steps to a Lifestyle Change

Brandywine Couple Enlists Help of Personal Trainer to Prepare for Active Future

As the start of John and Alice Bailers trip to Ireland grew near, the Brandywine couple started to worry about their ability to handle the physical challenges that awaited them. From handling their luggage, to castle stairs and country walking tours, the Bailers knew they needed to make some improvements to their levels of fitness. When we fly, we use long-term parking lots and this time we were concerned that we wouldnt be able to lift our bags quickly enoughor high enoughto get on the shuttle bus to the airport terminal, said John Bailer.

The couple, in their 60s, began looking for a gym or fitness center to begin an exercise regimen where they would feel comfortable. When they visited the Fitness Center at the College of Southern Marylands La Plata Campus, they felt it was a good fit. CSM Personal Trainer Aaron Smith met with the Bailers, designed a program to help them build endurance and balance, and then met with them two times a week for the six weeks before their trip.

When Alice Bailer told their children what they were up to the response was positive. They are both runners and they have never seen us exercise, but they are happy that we want to change our lifestyle, she said.

We have certified personal trainers available on all three campuses that are available to work with clients during any of our open fitness center hours, said CSM Fitness Coordinator Jane Pomponio. We train clients of all ages and fitness levelsseniors, weekend warriors and athletes. Many are trying to improve their health and find they lose inches in the process because they have incorporated structured exercise and are eating healthier.

Following their trip, John Bailer said that they found lifting luggage was not even a little problem, thanks to the many opportunities we had during our training to get stronger. As for the castle stairs, We think that the stamina we had when we were stair-climbing and castle-climbing at Bunratty Castle, Adair Castle and Blarney was amazingour endurance has never been better, said John Bailer. We also really noticed the better balance we were able to maintain on boats, like the trip we took down the fjord in the Galway area. We found that our knees seemed stronger, our balance better, our bending easier and the trip not so tiringwe think the training we took at CSM was at least partially responsible for that. We look forward to starting the conditioning class in October.